The present invention relates generally to surgical instruments for occluding a vessel or other body conduit, and more particularly, to replaceable pads or inserts for attachment to jaw-type occlusion devices.
Instruments for occluding blood vessels and other body conduits are well known. Conventional surgical clamps or clips made of metal or other rigid materials can cause trauma to the clamped vessel at the clamping site. A number of atraumatic instruments have been developed for reducing trauma to a vessel during occlusion. In particular, conventional surgical clamps and clips have been adapted to include jaw surfaces containing resilient members or pads. These devices are prone to slipping off of the clamped vessel. This can be especially problematic in situations where, due to obstructions, a vessel has been clamped with only the distal tips of the clamp jaws. In such situations, the vessel can be especially prone to slipping in the direction of the distal tips.
Other attempts have been made to atraumatically occlude a vessel in a more secure fashion. U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,002 to Haller discloses a vascular clamp with resilient gripping members located on the jaws. A plurality of pin members are embedded within the gripping members, the pin members being of a length such that when a vessel is clamped between the members, the resilient material deflects to accommodate the vessel, exposing the pin members which grippingly engage the outer layer of the vessel, thus securing the vessel to the gripping member. While the Haller device is less traumatic to a vessel than other occlusion devices, it nevertheless has the disadvantage of traumatizing the outer layer of the vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,139 to Mallina discloses surgical forceps with hard plastic inserts having spherical protuberances and complementary grooves or spherical cavities. U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,397 to Fogarty discloses surgical clamps with jaw inserts having hard plastic teeth along the edges of the insert with a softer component along the interior of the insert. The hard teeth of this device serve to resist movement of a clamped vessel laterally of the jaw, but do so at increased risk of trauma to the vessel.
There is thus a need for a surgical clamp which atraumatically occludes vessels with improved gripping capabilities while simultaneously avoiding the disadvantages previously associated with existing surgical clamps or occlusion devices.